For Our English Friends -- The Flip Side .... Driving in the US
Getting Around in the Car is Fun .... Most of the Time ....
Driving "here" is no different than the states .... only use your left brain ....
and get used to roundabouts (the most confusing things for Americans).
Besides these circular intersections (Remember Chevy Chase in European
Vacation .... "Look kids, Big Ben .... "), the second toughest thing is map
reading, followed closely by stick shifts. If you are going to be here more
than 12 months, you will need a UK driving license. We have just now
finished our licensing process (intimidating and nerve-wracking, but the
actual test was a piece of cake). The 25 years of driving experience does
pay off. We are now full license holders, equipped to handle the rigors of
full driving priviledges. For the table, alphabetical order prevails.
Probably biased "facts" and "things to know" about UK driving:
Cars -- generally smaller and better maintained than in the U.S. This is due to $5.00 a gallon gas and an annual M.O.T. (Ministry of Transport) inspection after a car is 3 years old.
Cars are more expensive, but you can get about any kind you want. After seriously considering a Jag and a Beamer, we settled for a 10 year old Vauxhall Senator (small Chevy Caprice) -- and a new Ford Explorer. Insurance is pretty comparable for full coverage.
Cars definitely have more gadgets -- fog lights, compass, outside temperature gauge .... We've learned these are not just for show -- you need them -- alot. (See next comments).
Weather is typically cloudy and rainy -- On cold days, icy. Compared to the Midwest, also alot more variable. A typical 12 hour sequence is fog, fog, rain, rain, rain, cloudy, sun, rain, rain, rain, rain, cold, sun, rain, rain, fog, drizzle (for variety), fog, fog, rain.
Roads inside a village (like ours) are narrow, carry abundant non-vehicle traffic, have numerous hazards (stone walls next to the road, blind driveways, etc) and contain many curves. Exceptional care is required -- DO NOT exceed the posted limit. A real life, recent example -- on Easter, a car going way too fast around the curve in front of house (speed limit 30), "forgot" to turn .... took out a 4 foot section of our stone wall .... the driver broke both legs.
Maps for just about anywhere are readily available and very useful. City maps show every roundabout, country / survey maps show footpaths. Until you have been here awhile, reading a map from the left side of the road is difficult.
In general, driving takes a couple of days to "learn". Until then, a passenger (or tape recording) saying "Stay on the left" is extremely beneficial.
We mentioned narrow roads -- actually, we think it is an optical illusion. There is, however, much less margin for error -- shoulders on main roads are only a couple of feet wide -- on country roads, there are none. In fact, there is a machine they use to trim back the grass / mud from the side of our road. You are not on your own side if the weeds aren't brushing the side mirror.
The English are very courteous drivers, and for the most part safe.
| Crosswalks of Various Types | Zebra Crossing | A Zebra Crossing is obvious after you've seen one. Black and white striped poles with blinking yellow lights on both sides of the street -- no stoplight. Rule is -- once a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk -- you stop -- period. Pedestrian has right-of way -- all the time. These are normally not at an insection, but rather in the middle of a block. Beware, oh cunning zebra. |
| Pelican Crossing | Basically, the same as normal U.S. crosswalks -- at a stoplight / intersection -- walk / don't walk lights -- timed with the stoplight. No flashing yellow light (see Puffin below). Nothing required of the pedestrian or driver, except to obey the lights. | |
| Toucan Crossing | We haven't figured out the Toucan from our driving book -- it's described the same as a Pelican, except that bicycles can use it too ??!! Note: Mystery solved -- you can ride your bike across a Toucan !! At others it must be walked. | |
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Puffin Crossing | Our favourite, but only because of the name. Mostly like a Pelican, except location is normally the middle of a block (not an intersection), and the pedestrian has to push a button to cross -- i.e. to make the traffic light turn red / walk sign come on. No pedestrians, the light stays green. After red is flashing yellow -- if all pedestrians are clear, it is ok to go on flashing yellow. |
| Getting Around | First comment is that roads are well sign-posted. It does take a little getting used to though. Our biggest problem when we first arrived was understanding the parenthesis. The quick lesson is that if you are on route "A1", you will see a turn that is marked A47 (A15). That does not mean you are turning onto A15 -- it means the A47 will at some point intersect with the A15, i.e. you can take A47 to get to A15. If you get confused, it's okay .... a very good way to tour the local countryside .... but do it during the day, it's ten times harder at night. |
Getting a Driving License
This is paper, no photo, unlaminated |
If
you are going to be here more than 
months, you are going to need a UK driving license. The
rules seem to vary, depending on who you ask, but
somewhere between 6 - 12 months, you will need it. Until
you have it, you are effectively driving on your valid U.S. license. Technically (vs.
practically), once you have applied for and received your
provisional license (at left), you can only:
|
| Lights (on a Vehicle) | Blinking of headlights at someone -- this is important, and we have just learned. We thought it meant "go ahead, I'm letting you in", of which we always took advantage, and said Thank You. Now, thru driver's training we learn that all it really means is "I'm here, be aware of me". The next chapter will be on English sign language, which we thought until now was very curious. |
 Blue --
Police, Ambulance, Fire, Emergency |
|
 Yellow --
Maintenance, Slow Moving, Other Hazards |
|
 Green --
Doctor, on an emergency call |
|
 Red -- Not
seen much -- only with blue on police cars |
If you just aren't going to
drive, click for appropriate music
|
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A couple of words about roundabouts -- they are everywhere -- they come in all sizes -- they flow clockwise, so watch traffic from the right only -- and, on first arrival, they are intimidating. But, they are also pretty efficient at moving traffic (like a yield sign), and aren't really that tricky. For new drivers here, the toughest thing will be patience .... your turning will come .... if you miss it .... go around again .... no prob. A few "rules" follow. |
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In a way, it is like a big clock. We have worked out a system to stay on course .... Whatever way we enter a roundabout is 6 o'clock. It's easy to explain that way as well --- in at 6, and wanting to turn before 12 (like the red car at left), stay in the left lane on approach -- wanting to turn at 12 or after (like the green car at left or the red car below), get in the right hand lane, stay to the inside of the circle until you have passed the turn before yours, then signal and move to the outside | |
| lane. Actually, according to the driving school, if you are leaving at 12, you can be in the left lane on approach (like the blue car above). If you did that, you should stay in the outside lane the whole way, with no signal until you are past the last turn before yours. It is easy (until you get to a huge one, with about eight spokes) .... Have fun and be careful. |
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Signs |
Most of the signs here are the
same, or are self explanatory. Below are some that aren't so obvious. |
|
 Yield |
 School Crossing |
 No Stopping |
 No Entry |
 No Passing |
 Nat'l Speed Limit Applies (see below) |
 No Bikes, Etc |
 Road Constr |
|
 Watch Out For These -- 4th one is Wild Horses ??! I have also seen one for Toads, but it wasn't in the book. |
 Ice |
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| And on that note, a few signs from the book that we thought were funny or strange .... | ||
Hump Bridge ... honest to goodness, we have one 1/2 mile from our house |
Quayside or River Bank? I guess be careful not to drive your car in. |
Crosswinds -- would you have guessed that ? |
Risk of Grounding ... by the time we figured it out, the exhaust was shot. |
Maybe it's just us, but if we were a couple of decades older, we'd be insulted. |
Soft verge (shoulder). We thought it meant "Watch for people driving on the sidewalk". |
| Speed Limits | MPH |
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City Streets |
2 Lane Rd |
4 Lane Rd |
6+ Lane Rd |
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| Car, Van, Motorcycle | 30 | 60 | 70 | 70 |
| Car w/Trailer | 30 | 50 | 60 | 60 |
| Bus, Small Truck | 30 | 50 | 60 | 70 |
| Big Truck | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 |
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[Hits Since 02/03/99 20:00 GMT -- {or, English Style, 03/02/99}]
Roundabouts
